WFHGS

ASSEGAI!
The 1879 British Campaign in Zululand

Historical Simulation
which can be used as e i-
ther a boardgame or
miniatures campaign

Includes rules, map, counters, terrain cards, event cards,

orders of battle, and organizational displays.

C ONTACT PERSON: M A T T I RSIK

W ASATCH F RONT H ISTORICAL G AMING S OCIETY

S PECIAL E DITION F O R THE S PRING I SSUE O F W ARNING O RDER

E MAIL : MIRSIK 1@ JUNO . C O M

 WASATCH FRONT HISTORICAL GAMING
SOCIETY
ASSEGAI!
BOARDGAME/MINIATURES CAMPAIGN
The 1879 war between the
Rules Index British Empire and the Zulus
has long been a fascination for
Introduction 1 both gamers and historians. It
pitted a more modern army
against a native army with a
Setup/Sequence of 1
Play history of successful warfare.
Set against a political backdrop
Movement 2 of British exp ansionism and
tensions with the Boers, it pro-
Combat 2,3
duced a most unusual conflict.
Assegai! Is designed as a
Combat tables 3 doubt, only the length of time
strategic view of this war. The
British must crush the Zulu
Endgame & Variants 4 reducing the Zulu nation. A
Empire and occupy its territory.
Although designed as a
Miniatures Conversion 4 boardgame, it is very easily
Setup and Sequence of Play
Cut out all of the counters and
Special points of cards, separating them into
interest: their respective piles. Put the
VP markers so they read 24
• Can be played either
victory p oints as this is what
as a boardgame or as
the British player starts out
a miniatures cam-
paign. with. Set British control mark-
ers(flags) in areas 12, 16, 21,
• Combat system can 22, 23, and 24. Find the count-
be replaced with any
ers for the British First Invasion
set of miniatures
forces, garrison, and column
rules.
markers. Put the garrison
• Event cards make the markers in areas 12,16,22, and
campaign more un- 24. The British forces may be
predictable.
divided into any number of
forces up to 5 and placed in any
British controlled area. There
Special Supplement
Spring 2001
adaptable into a miniatures
campaign. Rules will be given
for both variations. The game
uses an unusual combat system
to create the interesting tactical
situations that were prevalent
throughout the war. As in the
real war, British firepower is
the deciding factor, but one or
two mis takes could cost the
disastrous consequences in
British side the campaign. The other areas of the British Em-
eventual outcome was never in pire.
and the cost to the Empire in It is a challenging situation
for both sides and hopefully we
failed campaign from January will someday add on a supple-
through April could have had ment for the Boer Wars.
are 6 supply wagon markers SEQUENCE OF PLAY
which each have 15 supply
points in them at start. Use the 1. Roll 2D6 and if the result
column markers to replace is a 2 or 12 pull a random
event card and follow the
large stacks of British forces
instructions on the card.
which can placed into the hold-
2. British Movement Phase
ing box areas.
3. British Supply Phase
The Zulu forces may be
4. Zulu Movement Phase
placed in any area surrounding 5. Combat Phase
and including the Ulundi area. 6. Bookkeeping Phase
The larger units which are bro-
ken into 2 to 4 counters must be This is repeated each turn un-
kept together during setup and til the end of both invasions
which are covered in Ending
movement There may be any
number of Zulu counters in an The Game.
area.
 ASSEGAI!
Page 2
MOVEMENT PHASE/SUPPLY PHASE
All British forces may move
one area per turn, including
supply wagons. To prevent
unwieldly stacks on the map, it
is suggested that you use the
column markers to represent a
force and put the markers into
the appropriate holding box.
Each turn the Zulu side rolls
3D6 and the result is the num-
ber of units the Zulu player(s)
can move. Zulu forces may
move two areas per turn to re-
Fugitive’s Drift flect their ability to cover large
distances quickly.
Combat Phase: Setup
When forces of both sides
British move one area are in the same area combat
ensues. First, randomly draw
per turn while the Zulus
15 terrain cards and place them
roll 3D6 for the number in three rows of five cards each.
of units that can move The Zulus will start from the
two areas per turn. top row while the British will
begin on t he bottom row.
Next, roll 2D6 to determine
if there are any special start up
COMBAT PHASE: Sequence of Play/Firing
Combat Phase Sequence
1.British Fire-All eligible Brit-
ish/Colonial units conduct fire.
2.Zulu Movement-Zulu units
attempt to enter melee.
3.Melee-Resolve melees.
4.Zulu Withdrawal Check
During the supply phase
the British player counts the
number of units that moved
and subtracts that amount
from his supply wagons or
garrisons. At the start of each
turn the British player rolls
2D6 and that is the amount of
supplies that arrives in the
area. They may be allocated
to any of the garrisons which
must be kept track of on a
separate piece of paper. Extra
supply wagons can be loaded
up from a garrison and sent
out to forces in the filed. The
conditions. On a roll of a 2 or
12 it is a surprise attack and the
Zulus start on the middle row.
The Zulus may be placed in as
few or as many of the top row
cards as the player desires. The
British player may place units
anywhere along the bottom
row.
Only two units plus any
Two units and any amount
of artillery can fire out of each
side of a terrain card. Total the
amount of fire strength(one
circle on the unit roster equals
one fire strength point), apply
firing modifiers, then roll 2D6,
cross indexing the result on the
table for the resulting loss to
Spring 2001
supplies for moving units can
only be deducted from wag-
ons with that force. You only
deduct supplies from units
that MOVED that turn.
Unsupplied units deduct
one from their firing in com-
bat and for each turn after the
first that they are unsupplied,
one circle is crossed off on
the unit roster. Also, a force
has to roll a 3, 4, 5, or 6 on
1D6 to be able to move to a
new area.
amount of artillery may fire out
of one side of any card. British
units may start in square or all
units in one card may be in
square.
The British side always sets
up first, then the Zulus. Then,
follow the combat phase s e-
quence of play for the remain-
der of the battle.
the target unit. Each British
unit fires individually and the
results applied before firing
with the next unit.
After all firing, the Zulu
units check individually to see
if they can enter a new card by
successfully rolling on the Zulu
movement table.
ASSEGAI! Spring 2001

Page 3
FIRING TABLE(2D6) FIRING MODIFIERS
ZULU CARD MOVEMENT
Number of Strength Points Firing +/- Value of Terrain Card Roll 2D6
Die Roll 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+ -1 British Firing From Square
-1 Firing at Outer Row Outer To Middle Row 10 or less
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 +1 Firing at Zulus Attempting to Move 1 Card-Same Row 10 or less
3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 Enter Melee Attempt to Enter Melee 8 or less
4 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 +1 Artillery Firing at Middle -1 For Each Hit in This Battle
5 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 Row -1 If Charging a Square
6 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 +2 Artillery Firing at Zulus At- +2 if Charging a unit not in Square
7 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 tempting to Enter Melee.
8 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2
9 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3
10 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 MELEE PROCEDURE
11 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 Melees occur when a Zulu unit(s) are in the same card as a British/
12 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 Colonial unit(s) and has passed their withdrawal check. Melee is figured
out unit by unit, matching one Zulu unit against one British unit and re-
solving the combat before any other melees are resolved. Each unit gets
WITHDRAWAL CHECKS a number of D6 according to its current strength(round down):

Each time a Zulu unit takes casualties, a Co- Cavalry 1D6 per 3 strength points(Zulus feared cavalry)
lonial(non-British) unit is charged or loses a British 1D6 per 4 strength points
melee, it must be determined if the unit with- Artillery 1D6
draws. Roll 2D6 and if the result is more than NNC units 1D6 per 5 strength points
the listed value, the unit withdraws: Zulus 1D6 per 3 strength points

Zulus 12 Colonial units 9
Apply the following modifiers:
-1 for each hit -1 if lost last melee
round
+2 if won last melee round
British units never withdraw. Colonial units
will withdraw to any adjacent area and take
1D6 amount of hits if non-cavalry.
The Zulu army checks withdrawal at the end
of each Combat phase, rolling 2D6 and with-
drawing ALL units on a roll of 12+. There is
a +1 modifier for each 10 hits and +1 for each
unit that has withdrawn from battle. The Zulu
army will also lose 1D6-2 hits from each cav-
alry unit in pursuit after the battle.
Any roll of a 4, 5, or 6 causes one strength point loss to the opponent sub-
ject to the following modifiers:
Zulus fighting cavalry -2 British units get a saving
throw
Zulus attacking a square -2 of a 6 on a D6 or 5 and 6 if in
Zulus attacking a fort -2 square against each hit.
Zulus vs. unit not in square +1
Against a square, either by a single unit or multiple units, if the
Zulus cause triple the number of hits than they lost ,they are assumed to
have broken the square. Another melee round is fought, but the Zulus get
a +1 to their melee rolls. Ex.; five British units are in square and inflict 3
hits while the Zulus inflict 9 hits. The square is considered broken.
At the end of each melee phase if neither side has withdrawn,
then further rounds are fought until one side withdraws. British forces
never withdraw, but Colonial forces may retreat. If the Zulus withdraw,
British/Colonial cavalry units may pursue.

COMBAT PHASE(CONT.)

If an area containing a Brit-
ish garrison is attacked, the gar-
rison counter is put inside of a
fort marker. The saving throw
for the garrison is increased to a
3,4,5, or 6 on 1D6.
British/Colonial non-
cavalry units may elect to form
square anytime before the
Zulus move in each combat
phase. The only penalty is
the –1 for firing from a square.
During melee, a unit
may be attacked any number of
times, provided that each de-
fender in a terrain card has been
attacked during that same com-
bat phase. Ex.; there are five
Zulu counters attacking three
British units. Each British unit
must be attacked by one Zulu
unit, then the leftover two Zulu
units can make attacks against
any of the three British units.
Units forced to with-
draw may move to any area not
occupied by enemy units. If
forced to withdraw into an al-
ready enemy occupied area
they take 1D6 amount of hits
and withdraw to the next avail-
able empty area.
British forces can
withdraw at any time, but any
supplies are left behind and
they suffer 1D6 amount of hits.
WASATCH FRONT HISTORICAL
GAMING SOCIETY ENDING THE GAME
The first invasion lasts 8 turns and then the British force structure is
changed and the Second Invasion begins. Only the units on the roster as listed
for the second invasion may be used. The forces can then be set up in any ar-
eas used in the setup for the first invasion. If the Zulus control the map, then
British forces will have to fight their way on to the map. On the final turn, the
British player counts up the victory points by adding the values for all the ar-
eas under British control., then consulting the Victory Points Table for the re-
sult.
Comments, suggestions, or rules ques-
tions can be forwarded to:
mirsik1@juno.com VARIANTS
1. Allow the second invasion to be able to land 2D6 worth of units on any coastal
The Best in Historical Simulations area. 2. At the end of each turn roll 2D6 and is a12 is rolled the Boer uprising begins
earlier and 1D6 of cavalry units leave and 1D6 of British infantry and artillery units
withdraw from the map.
VISIT OU R SITE
WWW.WFHGS.COM DESIGNER NOTES
As you may have figured out, it is very difficult for the Zulus to win the cam-
paign. Historically, if the British had not suffered their fatal disaster, the campaign
would have been a lot more one sided with many more battles resembling Ulundi.
WFHGS However, it is very challenging for the British side to plan out and allocate the forces
needed to prosecute the campaign successfully as one mistake could cost you the
game. Certainly, players can add all kinds of optional rules to cover scouting, com-
mander abilities, ammunition, and other events as this game is meant to be a basic
campaign game.

MINIATURES CONVERSION

Assegai! Can easily be con- ratio than your rules call for to Most rules have ideas about set- for playability’s sake, but the de-
verted into a historical minia- be able to use those larger ting up campaign battles or each struction of a British force or the
tures campaign. Each circle on units. Garrison forces if they group will have to set up guide- pursuit of withdrawing Zulus by
the unit rosters equals approxi- come into play can be set up as lines before the campaign begins. colonial cavalry would make for
mately 100 men. The British a Roarke’s Drift type outpost. Miniatures would also be a interesting tabletop actions.
mounted units in particular can When selecting terrain for better way to represent pursuits You can also represent the
be better simulated as they havebattle you could still use the and fighting withdrawals. The supply situation better by having
been consolidated into fewer terrain cards, just use each one boardgame must abstract these as many wagons as you wish with
counters for playability. Some to represent a section of the each of them holding a num-
of the mounted unit counters board. Each card could repre- ber of supply points. They
actually represent 2-4 separate sent a 2 ft. square area with then become highly valued
units in real life which can be liberal interpretation of how items that must be defended
converted easily with minia- much of the square should the and taken into account when
tures. dominating terrain be in. A setting up a battle. These
The larger Zulu regiments method of deciding where each rules are just the basics to get
can be a problem, especially force set up will have to be de- started and can be expanded
some of the 5-9,000 men units. cided upon and objectives or simplified to fit your need.
I would suggest a higher figure should also be set for each side.
1st Bn/24 2nd Bn/24 1st Bn/13 2nd Bn/3 Naval Brigade 99th Regt

Volunteers Natal Units Mtd Rifles Mtd Natives Frontier Horse 1st Dragoons

17th Lancers 1st Artillery 2nd Artillery 3rd Artillery 90th Regt 80th Regt

4th Artillery Rocket Btty Garrison 1 Garrison 2 Garrison 3 Garrison 4

Zulu Allies 1st Bn/2 NNC 2nd Bn/2 NNC 1st Bn/1 NNC 2nd Bn/1 NNC 3rd Bn/1NNC

1st Bn/3 NNC 2nd Bn/ 3 NNC Native Cntngt 88th Regt 57th Regt 3/60 Rifles

91st Highland 2Bn/21 Regt 58th Regt 94th Regt Wood's Irreg. M/6 R.A.

8/7 R.A. 11/7 R.A. N/5 R.A. N/6 R.A. 10&11/7 R.A. 4th Bn/NNC

5th Bn./NNC 2nd Bn/NNC Dunn's Scouts Mtd. Troops Bettington/ Baker's Horse
Shepstone

Supplies 1 Supplies 2 Supplies 3 Supplies 4 Supplies 5 Supplies 6

uNokhenkhe umHlanga umXapho iQwa inSugamgeni izinGulube

uDududu imBube isaNqu Thulwana iNdhlondhlo inDluyengwe

iNgobamakhos iNgobamakho iNgobamakhos uVe 1 uVe 2 uDhloko 1

i 1 si 2 i 3

uDhloko 2 uMbonambi umCijo 1 umCijo 2 umCijo 3 umCijo 4

BRITISH BRITISH FORT SQUARE SQUARE SQUARE

VP VP
X10 X1
BRITISH BRITISH BRITISH BRITISH BRITISH
COLUMN COLUMN COLUMN COLUMN COLUMN TURN
1 2 3 4 5
 SECOND FRONT
Zulus Launch Attack North of
the Pangola River
Remove 1 British battalion, 1
artillery unit and 1 cavalry unit
for 1D6 turns
CHELMSFORD
Loss of Chelmsford Affects
Campaign
Roll 1D6
1 Chelmsford Dies-First
Invasion immediately ends.
2,3 Chelmsford Ill-All
British/Allied units cannot move
this turn.
5,6 Chelmsford Replaced-No
British/Allied units can advance
for 2 turns.
EARLY
REINFORCEMENTS
Units Bound For India Are
Reassigned
The 17th Lancers and one
artillery unit arrive at either the
Middle Drift or Lower Drift and
are available this turn.
First Invasion Only
DROUGHT
High Temperatures Make
Operations Near Impossible
All British/Allied units must roll a
4,5, or 6 on 1D6 to be able to
move one area. Supply costs for
units in combat are double.
SURPRISE ATTACK!
Zulus Reorganize and Attack
Move any 5 Zulu units anywhere
on the board during the Random
Events Phase. They may then
move one more area in the
Movement Phase.
PLAGUE
Disease Sweeps Through
British/Allied Units
All British/Allied units are unable
to move for the next two turns
and their strength is halved for
any combat
EVENT CARDS
RAID!
Zulus Launch Attacks on
Supply Columns
There are no supply rolls for
British this turn.
SUPPLY CONVOY
ARRIVES
Extra Supplies Arrive
On this turn only the British roll
2D6 for the amount of supplies
they receive.
BOERS REVOLT
Province Rebels Against The
Crown
Remove 1 British infantry unit, 1
cavalry unit, and 1 artillery
battery for 1D6 turns.
 TALL GRASS OPEN FARMS

Concealment No Modifiers +1 to Move Into

-1 to Move Into +1 for Defender in Close
-1 to British/Allied Fire Combat

OPEN OPEN OPEN

No Modifiers No Modifiers No Modifiers

OPEN OPEN TALL GRASS

No Modifiers No Modifiers Concealment

-1 to Move Into
-1 to British/Allied Fire
 GULLEY GULLEY FOREST

Concealment Concealment Concealment

-1 to Move Into -1 to Move Into -2 to Move Into
-1 to British/Allied Fire -1 to British/Allied Fire -1 to British/Allied Fire

PLATEAU ROCKS HILLS

+1 to Move Into Impassable +1 to Move Into

-1 to British/Allied Fire No Movement Into Allowed

HILLS OPEN OPEN

+1 to Move Into No Modifiers No Modifiers

 STREAM RIVER BRUSH

Concealment
+1 to Move Into +2 to Move Into -1 to Move Into
+1 to British/Allied Fire -1 to British/Allied Fire

ROUGH BRUSH OPEN

Concealment
+1 to Move Into -1 to Move Into No Modifiers
-1 to British/Allied Fire -1 to British/Allied Fire

OPEN OPEN OPEN

No Modifiers No Modifiers No Modifiers

BRITISH Column 1 Holding Box BRITISH Column 2 Holding Box

BRITISH Column 3 Holding Box BRITISH Column 4 Holding Box

BRITISH Column 5 Holding Box

ZULU FORCES
uNokhenkhe OOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
umHlanga OOOOOOOOOO
umXapho OOOOOOOOOO
iQwa OOOOO
inSugamgeni OOOOOOOOOO
izinGulube OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
uDududu OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
imBube OOOOO
isaNqu OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Thulwana OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
iNdhlondhlo OOOOOOOOO
inDluyengwe OOOOOOOOOO
iNgobamakhosi 1 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
iNgobamakhosi 2 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
iNgobamakhosi 3 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
uVe 1 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
uVe 2 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
uDhloko 1 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
uDhloko 2 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
uMbonambi OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
umCijo 1 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
umCijo 2 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
umCijo 3 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
umCijo 4 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
BRITISH/ALLIED FORCES 1st INVASION
1st Bn./24th OOOOOOOO 1st Artillery OO
2nd Bn./24th OOOOOOOO 2nd Artillery OO
1st Bn/13th OOOOOOOO 3rd Artillery OO
2nd Bn./3rd OOOOOOOO 4th Artillery OO
Naval Brigade OO Rocket Btty O
99th Rgt. OOOOOOOO
Volunteers OOOOO Garrison 1 OO
Natal Units OOO Garrison 2 OO
Mtd. Rifles OOO Garrison 3 OO
Mtd. Natives OOO Garrison 4 OO
Frontier Horse OO
Zulu Allies OOOOO Supplies 1 OOOOOOOOOOOOO
90th Rgt. OOOOOOOO Supplies 2 OOOOOOOOOOOOO
80th Rgt. OOOOOOOO Supplies 3 OOOOOOOOOOOOO
Native Cont. OOO Supplies 4 OOOOOOOOOOOOO
1st Bn./1NNC OOOOOOOOOOO Supplies 5 OOOOOOOOOOOOO
2nd Bn./1NNC OOOOOOOOOOO Supplies 6 OOOOOOOOOOOOO
3rd Bn./1NNC OOOOOOOOOOOO
1st Bn./2NNC OOOOOOOOOOO 1st Bn./3NNC OOOOOOOOOOOO
2nd Bn./2NNC OOOOOOOOOOO 2nd Bn./3NNC OOOOOOOOOOOO

BRITISH/ALLIED FORCES 2nd INVASION

2nd Bn./3rd OOOOOOOO M/6 R.A. OOO
88th Rgt. OOOOOO 8/7 R.A. O
99th Rgt. OOOOOOOO 11/7 R.A. O
57th Rgt. OOOOOOOO N/5 R.A. OOO
3/60 Rifles OOOOOOOO
O N/6 R.A. OOO
91st Highland OOOOOOOO 10/11/7 R.A. OOO
Naval Brigade OOOOOOOO
2nd Bn./21st OOOOOO Garrison 1 OO
58th Rgt. OOOOOO Garrison 2 OO
1st Bn./24th OOOOOOO Garrison 3 OO
1st Dragoons OOOOOO Garrison 4 OO
17th Lancers OOOOOO
Wood's Irreg. OOOOO Supplies 1 OOOOOOOOOOOO
Dunn's Scouts O Supplies 2 OOOOOOOOOOOO
Baker's Horse OO Supplies 3 OOOOOOOOOOOO
Bett/Shepstone OO Supplies 4 OOOOOOOOOOOO
Mounted Rifles OOOOO Supplies 5 OOOOOOOOOOOO
Frontier Horse OO Supplies 6 OOOOOOOOOOOO
Natal Units OOO
1st Bn./13th OOOOOO
4th Bn./NNC OOOOOOOO
5th Bn./NNC OOOOOOOOOOO
2ND Bn./NNC OOOOOOOOO
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

VICTORY POINT CHART 1 2 3

0-15 Major Defeat. The Boers revolt and the Zulus run wild in the Natal Provinces.
A complete disaster which will force troops needed elsewhere to be sent
to rectify the situation.
16-25 Tactical Defeat. Most British officers are dismissed and the Boers 5 6 7
see their chances of a successful revolt increase dramatically.

26-35 Minor Defeat. British weaknesses have been exposed and the
frontier becomes a far more deadlier place.

36-50 Minor Victory. The punitive expeditions have met with some success 9 10 11
but have done nothing to solve the long term situation. Second
Invasion
51-60 Tactical Victory. The Zulu threat is much diminished and it will be Begins
another generation before they are strong enough to make a comeback.

61-75 Major Victory. Zulus are pacified and grant numerous 13 14 15

concessions to the victorious British.

76+ Overwhelming victory. The Zulu nation ceases to exist

9 VICTORY POINTS
X1

VICTORY POINTS
X10

TURN CHART

3 4

7 8
First Invasion
Ends

11 12

15 16
Game Ends